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One of the early Northern football teams in 1908 consisted of (back from left) Robert Welsh, coach Paul Young, Joseph Price, captain Arthur Voigt, Arno Britzius, Roy Shaffer and Carl tompkins; (middle) Charles Brady, Frank Sieh, Valdemar Larson, Lynn Slocum, Frank McHugh and Carl Gillin; (front) Earl Kuehnert and Harold Webb. (NSU Beulah Williams Library Archive Photo / October 5, 2012) |
A look back at every season of Northern football
These year-by-year reviews of the Northern State football teams were compiled by American News teammates Shawn Werre and John Papendick along with 2012 summer intern Cara Ball:
1902
Coach: J.A. Schlueter.
Record: 2-2-2.
Of interest: The Aberdeen newspaper told its readers of Northern Normal and Industrial School’s upcoming first football game a couple of days before the game in a short story. Right below it was a story of equal size telling about a divorced couple from Groton who were getting remarried.
The first game was immediately marred in controversy because Aberdeen believed it should have won the game because the official from Huron did not see Huron College players continuously break the rules by being offsides.
Ellendale hired its own train to make the trip to Aberdeen to watch its Ellendale Manual Training School take on the Northern Normal and Industrial School on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28) in 1902. More than 200 Ellendale fans rode the train, with coach McManus warning "the Aberdeenites that Ellendale would be bringing a strong team," but Northern won 27-0. Joe Campbell was Northern’s ref; D.T. Youker was Ellendale’s.
A few months after the first season had ended, the Aberdeen community came to a near standstill when one of the original players, 19-year-old Eddie Meyer, died Feb. 23, 1903, of appendicitis after an operation. He was a popular young man in Aberdeen. He had been manager of the Aberdeen High School football team before playing at Northern.
When word reached campus of his death on Feb. 23, classes were dismissed for the day after a brief memorial service at the chapel at Northern by the Rev. J.Y. Montague. School at Northern also was called off for the day on Feb. 26 so students and staff could attend Meyer’s funeral.
PLAYERS: Ellison, Boulton, Drum, Cummins, Minx, McCaughey, McDonough, McKenna, Tower, Bennett, Anderson, Brown, Dennison, Giddings, Martin, Meyer, Davies and Ringrose.
GAMES
L…Huron College…2-5
T…@Groton High…0-0
L…@Huron College…6-17
T…@Ellendale Manual Training School…0-0
W…Aberdeen Central…17-0
W…Ellendale Manual Training School…27-0
1903
